Fashion

Persil Small and Mighty

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Persil Small and Mighty is a washing detergent with twice the strength of usual detergents. At a slightly higher cost, it is certainly no miracle formula, but is effective against stains and has a pleasant aroma. „

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Having two young children running about outside in the school holidays means we have a lot of dirty washing. White socks turn green with grass and mud but come clean with pers small and mighty. Gravy stains came out of a white tshirt with the first wash. Really recommend this product if you have mucky children's clothes to wash.

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a great quality washing detergent which smells good and good value when on offer

I am not brand loyal when it comes to buying washing detergent so shop around for the latest offers on well-known brands so was pleased to find this one litre bottle priced at just £4 in my local Wilko store a few weeks ago.

I now live alone so do not have a tremendous amount of washing to do so this bottle, although it says it will do 28 washes, will last me longer because I do not actually find I need to fill up the cap to the brim for each load. I find it washes just as well as other leading brands even on a quick wash setting. The smell is lovely too and I have found that my clothes, towels, tea towels and bedding all retain the fragrance for a good few days.

The one I chose is the green version as pictured and it tells me on the front that it is Bio Small & Mighty and claims to clean 'tough stains even in a quick wash' and contains a 'wash booster'. On the reverse of the tough plastic bottle I am told that 'this concentrated liquid detergent contains wash booster technology for our best ever stain removal'. There are written instructions as well as picture diagrams and advice about using it on really stubborn stains. I would not normally take much notice of stain removal information but found I had a really bad food stain on my favourite teatowel and it worked a treat as there is no trace of the ingrained tomatoey brown stain and my teatowel looks brand new.

The liquid itself is fairly thick and is a lovely sea blue - I am not sure what name Persil give to the scent but to me it smells fresh, ocean-like, quite strong yet not overpowering. The washed clothes etc smell freshly laundered but not perfumed which I like.

The bottle and cap are made of a good quality plastic and it is very easy to measure out the required amount without it spilling all over the place or using far more than is required. I only fill the cap to two thirds full and have never been disappointed with its effectiveness. I wear a lot of black leggings and have found that they have not faded in colour which is good - some other washing detergents I have used do cause fading.

There is plenty of other information provided on the back of the bottle including the ingredients (all gobbledegook to me I'm afraid) plus cautions, address and website details and details of Unilever's Greener Planet Plan which I would have liked to have read but the print is far too small!

I have to say I would buy this Small & Mighty again if it was on offer because it does the job, lasts me ages and has a lovely smell so 5 stars from me.

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A good washing liquid

I tried Persil Small and Mighty as part of a product testing campaign, whilst I got it free, the bottle for 18 washes was around £3 at the time making it not too costly.

The bottle is mainly white and blue and has Persil written across the front, it also says it has wash booster included in it this is to help with stain removal.

There is a dosing cap on the top of the bottle and this came in handy, you simply fill it to the correct line and pop it in the machine along with your clothes - on the back of the bottle is a guide for how much you need to use depending on how large and how soiled your wash load is.

It was the non-bio version I used as I like the washing products I use to be kind to my childrens skin; this did not cause them any irritation and I was actually quite impressed that it was still effective in a cool wash.

I tried it on various child stained clothes, they included ketchup, grass stains, pasta sauce, jam and mud, each time the clothes came up nice and clean, On whites it is also good for general grubbiness however I did find then when i tried to wash some honey and mustard salad dressing out of my partners white top it was not effective which was disappointing.

I am not sure I would buy this because I am quite happy with both Sainsburys and Tesco own brand gels, but if you are someone who likes to buy brand names then I would recommend Persil Small and Mighty because it washed well and was pretty much inscented which I like because I prefer to use my fabric softener to make my clothes smell nice.

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No more stress over having the boys in white!

Please note: I received this product free to try as part of a BzzAgent campaign. BzzAgent is a programme that allows you try to everyday items free in return for spreading the word about the product. You often get smaller samples for your friends as well.

If I had written this review yesterday, I would have given this 4 stars. I felt it was good product, but I think Tesco washing up liquid is very good as well, and it costs less. Yesterday however, my son put this to the test and it came through with flying colours ---- or in this case flying whites. My sons both take karate lessons and my oldest is very involved in the sport, having recently made green belt. Although his old karate uniform was not completely outgrown, it had greyed to the point that I felt embarrassed sending him to classes in it. It just looked dull, dingy and unwashed. So we had just bought a new gi, all nice and crisp and white. He was ready for class a bit early and asked if he could ride his bike while he waited. My husband said yes - "just don't get dirty". Famous last words. He ended up doing stunts with the stunt pegs and rubbing his pants legs across the freshly oiled chain.

When he came home I threw the suit in wash, and looking for other whites to wash, threw in his old trousers in too, as he uses these for PJ's since they are so comfortable. I did use the Persil stain eraser ball, and carefully scrubbed the oil stains. I through everything into the wash and hoped for the best. When I pulled these out today I was honestly amazed. The stains were gone, but what really shocked me was how crisp and white the old grubby look gi was actually white again.

Persil did perform well on all other counts as well. I found that 35 ml was more than sufficient for all of my other wash, and dropped it down a bit below this for most loads, but I did use the full 52ml for the karate uniforms. The 15 wash bottle is 525 ml. At 35 ml per wash I would get exactly 15 washes. If you were to use the full 52 recommended for heavily soiled stains you will only get 10 and you may get less depending depending on how much is used to pre-treat products.

Persil claims to be gentle to the skin, and I would have to agree with this. My son has very sensitive skin and I normally rinse all of his clothes twice. This wasn't possible at the caravan site though, and there were no problems.

I have found the scent of this to be very mild, and as I do always use conditioner as well, this is completely covered up by the fabric conditioner. However, opening up the wash before adding my conditioner there is a faint detergent smell, fresh and clean but not perfumed. I know they do have other scented varieties but the one supplied for the Bzz campaign was simply Persil Bio. Having used this at caravan, where my husband and son have gone fishing, I can confirm that it does remove smells very well because quite frankly they all smell horrid after fishing. It worked very well on all the everyday stains as well, such as grass, red sauce and mud.

My only problem with Persil is the price. Of course this does cost more than my usual Tesco brand. It is currently on offer at £5 for a 25 wash bottle or £6 for a 40 wash bottle, and I do plan to buy a bottle while it is on special. I can buy a Tesco 28 wash bottle of gel though for only £4. I have no doubt I will continue to buy Persil. I don't plan to ever wash the karate uniforms in anything else again. But I will also continue to buy the Tesco detergent as well. I will save the Persil for the Karate uniforms or heavily stained items and use the cheaper detergents for things like bedding, towels and less heavily soiled clothes.

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Not a miracle formula, but a pretty good one regardless

I'm a Bzz Agent like many other Dooyoo-ers, and been taking part in the Persil Small and Mighty campaign so thought I'd add my review here too:

I have used Persil Small and Mighty with the stain eraser ball for a few washes now. I have 4 young children, so plenty of stains for me to test it on!

I have been really impressed with the stain removing abilities of the product - however deep set, dried in orange baby food did escape the power of Persil Small and Mighty (even with thorough pre-treating). It did lighten the stain slightly, and a few hours on the washing line in the sun faded it considerably more - but if I was unable to use the washing line the stain would have been unacceptable.

Lighter staining, mud, dirt and even ink were all removed successfully first time - where other brands had failed. But oily orange stains would need more than one treatment and must be washed straight away - if you leave it to set in it's impossible to remove (at least first time).

The liquid is very runny and you need to be careful not to over-pour it, and that whilst pre-treating it doesn't slop over the sides of the stain eraser ball. The dosing/stain eraser ball is made of squashy silicone, which is much better for (and not as noisy in) your machine as the hard plastic balls. It has measurement lines for correct dosing, and a handy pouring lip for pouring it precisely onto stains - then the base of the ball has little nobbly bits to rub the liquid deep into the fabric.

The fragrance of the liquid is really pleasant and lingers for a long time after washing. Clothing comes out feeling very soft even without using a fabric conditioner.

Overall I'm very happy with the results and I would use Persil Small and Mighty again.

That was quite a short Bzz review, so thought I should elaborate little.

My Persil Small and Mighty (Bio, as I tested), came in a 15 wash bottle. You will only get 15 washes out of it if you use the smaller 35ml dosing level, for soft water areas and very light soiling. Anything heavily soiled or if you are in a hard water area, you will need to use the maximum dose of 52ml which allows you to get around 8 washes per bottle.

The bottle design itself is nice and ergonomic. It has a handy hole in the centre for the dosing/stain eraser ball to store when not being used - this is a good feature if, like me, you constantly lose your dosing device. The lid snaps open and closed nicely and has a good pouring lip. As I mentioned above, the liquid is very runny, so the pouring lip does help prevent it sloshing everywhere.

The dosing/stain eraser ball is one of the best things about the product. The fact it's soft and squashy means it won't rattle around too much in the washing machine drum, or cause any damage. Also as it's smaller than traditional dosing balls, you don't get socks caught inside! The nobbly base really does help to work the liquid into the fabric - and I would use this for other liquids and treatments even if I didn't get Persil next time.

Another nice thing about Persil Small and Mighty liquid is the gorgeous scent. It really is a lovely soft fresh scent, without being either too clinical or too floral. The scent lingers for a long time too. If the cleaning power was as fabulous as the scent, then this would be the only thing I ever buy!

Unfortunately, cleaning performance isn't perfect - but then I haven't found anything that is to be honest. Even specific stain removal products such as Vanish etc. haven't ever been able to fully get rid of greasy orange tomato based stains. Also pre-existing dried stains, such as ink and chocolate on my children's school shirts weren't removed - but I'd resigned those to the bin anyway.

Persil Small and Mighty does a pretty good job compared to other brands on the market - but as it's advertised as a product that doubles up as a stain remover, I can't say it's any better than others used in that way. I would buy it again because it's a decent detergent and smells gorgeous, but only if it was on offer as I don't think it's as miraculous as advertised, and too expensive to buy on a regular basis.

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Nothing special

As a member if Bzzagent I received a bottle of of Persil small and might from persil to try. I think I have given it a fair go now having done quite a few washes with it and I have to say my feelings are a little mixed to be honest.

As a mother of two children a 6 year old boy who makes getting dirty and Olympic sport and a grubby 1 year old who is always getting covered in something I always end up with clothes that are stained with food, dirt and goodness knows what else, especially on the lighter coloured fabrics.

According to the packaging this product is twice as concentrated as standard Persil meaning it is allegedly better at getting out the though stains. It also comes with a little applicator ball with means you can apply it directly to the tougher stains and rub it in for an extra stain busting boost.

I have found that mud, dirt and grime come out easily but tomato based stains such as beans, spaghetti, pasta sauce and ketchup stains don't come away so easily. I followed the directions to the letter but found that the stains only faded slightly and I had to wash them again on a high heat to get them out and have the clothes completely clean.

I would say that Persil small and mighty is an ok detergent but I don't think it is any better than other brands out there. If I was stuck or maybe if it was on special offer at the supermarket I might consider it, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

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I am also a BzzAgent who received a bottle from Persil free. It's the NEW Persil small & mighty which comes with a stain eraser ball in the middle of the bottle!My son is always coming back from school with many stains on his white uniform shirt, leaving it barely white! He also plays cricket, so you can imagine the horror! So far I have pre treated grass, mud, paint & sauce stains & the result: STAIN-FREE! However, the paint marks were still faint so wasn't completely removed! Overall great product and my favourite thing is the gorgeous smell!I would definitely recommend it.

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A good washing liquid but not something I will re-purchase

***Why I want the product?*** I had seen Persil Non Bio Small and Mighty for a while now on TV, magazines and supermarket shelves and always wondered if their claims really lived up to reality. For me I had never really been that impressed with big brand names so stuck to my regular washing powder that I was happy with but not happy when it came to tough stains that my washing powder alone could not remove without a pre-stain remover beforehand. I was lucky enough to receive Small and Mighty free from Persil for testing purposes so I had high hopes for Small and Mighty when I was asked to test it out.

Most of the stains come from my daughter's clothes but just recently it has been my husband and my clothes that have took a battering with stains that just will not budge especially more with the summer months of sun cream and deodorant marks.

***About the product*** Persil say their ground breaking new Persil Small and Mighty provides the best stain removal by cleaning the toughest stains with little amount of effort and liquid.

New Persil small and mighty Bio's innovative new Triple Cleaning System formulation shifts even the toughest stains - like dried-in Bolognese, blackcurrant juice and grass stains. At the heart of the bottle is the unique multifunctional Stain Eraser Ball. Not only is it perfect for measuring exact dosage but it also lets you pre-treat tough stains directly using the Stain Eraser Ball's dimpled surface - ensuring your kids are always ready for whatever life throws. Small and Mighty has a brand new formulation that gives better results to your cleaning, particularly oily stains while leaving clothes that are kind to sensitive skin. Small and Mighty has been dermatolgically tested and seen by the British Skin Foundation. There is a new triple cleaning action that gets rid of oily, grassy and red stains such as red wine and helps to keep clothes looking and stay vibrant. Small and Mighty comes complete with a stain eraser ball that gives the right dose; you can also use the ball to pre treat tough stains directly using the dimpled surface before washing them.

***Packaging*** New Persil Small and Mighty packaging looks striking from first glance, the 525ml white sturdy opaque plastic bottle is small at the top enlarging as it as travels down the bottle. The easy flip top lid has a mess free spout so there are no more spills and drips to contend with.

Just above the middle sees the green stain eraser ball that fits securely inside a hollow part of the bottle and can be easily removed with a little push. The logo is of Persil with Small and Mighty written at the bottom. The side of the bottle sees a transparent strip that lets you see how much product you have left, this I found to be an useful feature but would be more useful if it stated how many washes are left and not just blank.

Persil say a 525ml bottle can give you up to 15 washes, for me I looked at the bottle and thought I would never get 15 washes out of this but I will see.

***Applying Small and Mighty for Pre-Stain*** Taking my black t shirt that had a deodorant (stick) white marks around the armpit area, before using Small and Mighty this t-shirt had been in the washing machine with my regular powder for around four washes and this stain was not moving for love or money, I was beginning to worry the colour was going to fade or weather it needed to be thrown away. I also had my husband's t-shirts of a grease stain.

Opening the flip top lid and poring a little into the green ball meant I could control how much product is to touch my clothing, Small and Mighty is blue in colour and a thick liquid that smells clean and fresh without bring overpowering or too artificial.

I like the idea of the little green ball to use for a pre-stain helper but worried slightly that the dimpled side of the ball might damage the clothes slightly as you're rubbing it into the fabric, I thought the rubbing might stretch clothing but I need not have worried as the green ball is soft to the touch and squeezable. Pouring a small amount of the liquid onto the stain and gently rubbing the knobbly bits of the green ball into my clothing meant the liquid could penetrate into the clothing farther but it also felt an unnecessary step as before the green ball I would rub the liquid into the fabric with my fingers or rubbing the clothing together as households have done for years. Leaving the liquid to soak in for around a minute it is now time for the washing machine.

***Washing machine time*** I have a washing machine of 6kg capacity and because I live in a hard water area Persil recommend you use 52ml (6-8kg) of Small and Mighty instead of 35ml (4-5kg) for soft/medium water area. Strait away I knew I was not going to get 15 washes out of this bottle. Persil state Small and Mighty can be used at low temperatures but I always using 30c setting (machine does not go lower) and is suitable for short wash cycles as well. Pouring the blue liquid into the green bottle is easy but I found the mess free spout not to be so mess free as some liquid escaped the spout and ran down the bottle, which was easy to wipe away but still not fool proof.

The green ball has a measure of 35ml and 52ml is stated on the bottle with a line for each so you know where you are measuring up to, placing the ball on top of the wash load at the back means I am ready to start the wash in motion.

***Did it remove all stains?*** Surprising my black t-shirt with the deodorant mark has completely removed and the colour stayed true if not looked better, the grease stain had also been removed. I was surprised to see my white clothing evens towels that looked like they had their day looked whiter than white, this put a smile on my face as my clothes and laundry looked better than ever.

As I was so impressed with Persil's stain removing my husband came to me with a white t-shirt that had curry splats on it as said "See if Small and Mighty can gets this out". This was curry splatters on the bottom of a white t-shirt and if Persil could remove this I would stay faithful forever but then again it's not like a big stain just a splatter. Back into the pre-wash with stain remover with the green ball, I let the liquid soak in for a minute or so and continued to wash with another full load. End of cycle sees the curry splatters still where they we're before the programme. I know Persil did not state they could remove all stains my hopes we're diminishing.

***How well does Small and Mighty keep my clothes smelling fresh?*** When the clothes first come out of the washer they all smell clean and fresh, I noticed after air drying or in the dryer the fragrance still lingers but for me I noticed the fragrance disappears within a few days so when you come to put an item of clothing on the fresh scent has gone or if it is there it is very faint.

***Did I get the 15 washes?*** As for the 15 washes Persil say I could get out of a 525ml bottle, I found this not to be true as I got around 5 washes and I have around 3 washes left in the bottle.

In a shop I would generally walk past this product due to the hollow part in the middle as to the eye it looks like you are getting less product for your money making it expensive.

***Price and availability*** You can get Persil Small and Mighty in four different size bottles, 15, 25, 40 and 60 washes. 15 = £4.75 25 = £5.00 40 = £10.00 60 = £13.00

***What I think about it/Would I purchase again?*** I love the fact Small and Mighty got out the stains in my clothing that my usual detergent could not remove but I was not impressed that it could not remove curry splatters even though it had also been pre-treated.

Because it did not remove all stains and for how many washes I got out of 525ml bottle (approx 8 washes instead of the 15) I think Small and Mighty is expensive for what it is. I believe there are cheaper brands out there that give twice as many washes and properly removes a lot more stains. At the moment I do not think I would re-purchase but it was lovely to test and have the chance to see for myself.

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Not for me.

UPDATED@ Bzzagent have removed this review from their site as they obviously only want fawning reviews. I care not. This is my honest opinion and it is not libellous nor abusive.

I have recently trialled this washing liquid as a Bzzagent. The kit contained a 15 wash sized bottle of the new style Persil Small & Mighty Bio liquid and several samples to give away to friends. The bottle was definitely small but was it mighty? The bottle has been redesigned from the picture above. Instead of a standard bottle shape, this product is now housed in a smaller bottle with a hollow centre which encloses a removable squishy green ball. The liquid goes into this and then the ball is put in the laden machine.

My household does a lot of washing, mainly because of the amount of pets that share our space, but also because I have a messy 4 year old whose main goal in life seems to be to distribute as much of the garden as possible on my soft furnishings. We have put tiled floors throughout the majority of the house, but use a lot of washable rag rugs. These are washed at least once a week or they look hideous. Muddy dog feet, cat hair, the odd murdered mouse intestines, dog drool, felt tip pen and play-doh, these rugs have a hard life. My big hairy dogs too need their bedding washed frequently, especially when it rains (most of the time as I live in Wales), so we average one full load of washing every day as a minimum. Add to this my own messy habits and hobbies involving paints, varnishes and sawdust, we end up with a house that permanently has a laundry pile which almost has a consciousness of its own.

I usually use a variety of washing powders. I use washing soda for the stinky dogs as a pre-wash, soap nuts when I am feeling saintly, and things like Ecover etc for main washes. Very occasionally I buy a mainstream powder or liquid, although I prefer powder. I never bother to buy "premium" brands such as this one because they are so expensive. They also all test on animals which makes me stabby.

USING IT:

So I had been given this to trial and I decided that I would try it out with an open mind, despite knowing that it was from big bad Unilever. First impressions were that the smell of this was really lovely and quite different to what I was used to. Describing the smell is hard, and saying that the smell was "clean" sounds silly and cliched, but it really did smell fresh and lovely. The liquid itself is a blue colour and there is a little translucent stripe running down the side of the bottle which enables you to see how much is left. The squishy and rubbery central "stain eraser ball" that sits in the belly of the bottle when not in use, has two functions. One is to act as a receptacle for the liquid whilst in the machine, and the other is to target stubborn stains on your fabric. To assist in this, the ball has lots of little knobbly circles which act as friction as you scrub the stain on your clothing. This function supposedly removes the need for a pre-treater but I never use those either. I am clearly a slattern but what a faff....

Either way, anything that removes the work involved in laundry is ok by me so I wanted to know if this was sales hype or if it did really work better for having a knobbly green ball....

Persil state that this liquid works well at lower temperatures which is good because I always wash at low temperatures. They also state that the liquid is suitable for shorter wash cycles. The liquid itself is easy to pour into the green ball and the lid clicks up and down like you would expect a body lotion bottle to do. This makes it much harder to spill everywhere (one of my favourite party tricks).

The liquid is supposedly supported by the British Skin Foundation and dermatologically tested but this means little to me as the BSF often put their name to all sorts of old rubbish and chemically laden junk. Again this is a good marketing ploy.

THE GREEN KNOBBLY BALL:

The ball is useful for accurate dosing of the thick blue liquid, and Persil state that this ensures that there is no waste. The sales blurb contains a lot of buzzwords such as "wash booster technology" etc, but really any soap type substance rubbed onto a stained piece of clothing would surely have the same result? I used the green ball to target some of the liquid on to ingrained mud and fresh raspberry juice, which thanks to my Daughter had made a mess of several towels and her clothing that morning. I rubbed the dimpled edged ball on the worst areas with a little bit of liquid, and then shoved the lot into the machine.

Persil recommend 35ml of the liquid for a standard load, or 52ml for a larger/very grubby load. I used 35ml on a cool wash. This liquid can also be used to hand wash items, in which case they recommend 17ml of liquid in 5 litres of water. According to Persil, this new formula includes an enzyme which is good for breaking down dark fruits like tomatoes and blackcurrants. I was interested to see how it coped with raspberries on a white top, and was also interested to see if the stain ball was a sales gimmick or if it genuinely worked.

EFFICIENCY OF LIQUIDS VS POWDERS:

There are many articles online that state that washing liquids are not as effective as powders, and that they can even be harmful to your washing machine. Generally speaking though, the gels and liquids do not usually contain bleach so this would affect that result. Persil's Small & Mighty contains an "optical brightening agent" which sounds like a bleach to me, however I could not find enough information on this to verify it. Liquid washing detergent can also apparently make your machine honk, as it does not have the right ingredients to prevent fungus/mould or greasy liquid build up in the pipes. It is also apparent that some washing machines do not cope very well with liquids, and the use of these can corrode parts of the drum supports. For this reason it is recommended that you do regular hot service washes to remove the slime and gunk, and also alternate between a liquid and a powder.

AFTERGLOW:

So what of Persil Small and Mighty?

After the 30 degree cycle in which I did pre-treat via the ball system, the laundry was ready to inspect. Certainly when the washing was removed from the machine, everything looked pretty good. The smell of the laundry was the most impressive thing, and once hung up to dry the smell permeated the house and garden. I am not usually one for artificial scents, but the aroma of this was very delicious. I went through the laundry with a fine toothed comb, especially my Daughter's manky white clothing. All of the raspberry juice and mud had gone (soon to be replaced with grass stains and pen but that is another story).

Over the next week, I used this detergent to clean clothing that was embedded in Moon Dough (Good God whoever invented that stuff deserves to be shot), paint, natural icing colouring, felt pen, dog wee, more mud, more juice etc.... and each time the liquid performed well. The laundry was bright and clean and always smelled amazing. So yes it does work but so do my tried and tested methods which are better for the planet and our skin. The only thing that this has going for it over my usual methods is the smell which I adored for some reason.

ETHICS:

Or rather lack of.

Persil are owned by Unilever who have a long and horrible history in regards to animal testing. They also do not use 100% renewable and ethical palm oil. Although Unilever has supposedly set a target to purchase all palm oil from certified sustainable sources by 2015, it still buys 40% of its palm oil from sources that are destroying the habitat of endangered species. This in my view is completely unacceptable. I am afraid that because of this, and the animal testing issue, I would not purchase this myself despite the glorious scent. Sorry Persil but you need to do better.

POSITIVES:

The bottle is easy to manage and handle, being dinky and ergonomically designed. The ball is easy to remove and squish back into the bottle and the overall size of the product means that it will not take up too much space where it is stored. The smell is great and the results are good, but no better than what I already use.

NEGATIVES:

Apart from the aforementioned palm oil issue and horrible animal testing, the bottle is expensive for the amount you get. If like me you have a family and pets, you will find that each load costs you around 60-80p including electricity, dependent upon your machine's efficiency. This soon adds up. Combine this with the chemicals in the ingredients, then really I do not feel that this is the right product for me at all.

The new design Small & Mighty is more expensive than the predecessor, in some shops it is as much as £2 more than the previous Small and Mighty incarnation. Persil have justified this by stating that the formulation itself is also improved, not just the bottle, and that it also works as a pre-treater. They argue that this offers better cleaning for the same dosage of liquid. I am not so sure about this but do not have anything to go on as I am not a Persil user. It sounds a bit like (nicely scented) flannel to me though....

A 25 wash bottle of Persil Small And Mighty Bio (875Ml) costs around £6.80 in Tesco's when not on offer.

SUMMARY:

If you are so inclined, then the Persil website contains information and guides for really tough stains. There is a full guide on there for using this product but really it is self explanatory. The liquid is easy to use and works well but there are too many negatives for me to become a loyal customer. I appreciate the chance to try it but unfortunately it is not for me.

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A stain remover and detergent in one

Have just tried Small and mighty over the last few days and was very impressed. Received as a freebie through joining and becoming a Bzz Agent.

I am already a fan of persil detergents and use their non-bio powder every time as its one of the few products I have found that doesn't bring my middle daughter out in a rash, so I'm waiting with baited breath to see if using this different detergent will be okay.

This product has a very distinctive floral smell which I really like as it made my washing smell clean instantly. It makes it really nice to get into a bed that smells so fresh.

Because of the product being liquid it was great to be able to use it for stain removal directly onto the stain rather than having to purchase another product. Having 3 children the variety of stains can be a challenge and the accompanying ball was a welcome relief to rubbing in stain removers. My clothes do look clean.

It comes in a white plastic bottle with the stain erasure / liquid ball / holder in the middle of the bottle and you simply pull to remove. My lid and erasure ball is green.

At £9.98 for 1.4litre or 40 washes in Asda, its cheaper to buy their 25 wash version for £5. It isn't the cheapest on options. I suspect that its something that would be nice to use on clothes in order to get rid of stains but probably a cheaper powder for sheets / towels.

I am awarding a 4 as it does smell nice and does clean well, however a bit pricey for my budget.

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Decent

I would say that the majority of shops own washing liquids are about a 4 star rating but I like my clothes to feel completely clean and I have found so far that this only comes from branded products. I have 2 favourites and that is surf and Persil although I did see on the channel 4 programme Superscrimpers that apparently Aldi's version was rated better than these but I have yet to try that.

The product is available in supermarkets or you can buy it online, there are 2 different sizes in the product a 28 wash 1 litre bottle which costs £6.50 or a 1890ml 54 wash bottle which is normally £10.50 however is currently on offer at Tesco for £60 which makes it just over 10p per wash.

The product comes in 3 different varieties, biological, non- biological and colours, I never bother with colours as I am not paying out for separate whites and colours detergents. The bottles are mainly white in colour but have brightly coloured lids and a bit of colour on the labels, you have the usual information on the bottles about all the things the product promises and how to use it along with warnings such as keep away from children and a list of ingredients.

To use the product you simply unscrew the cap and dose it with the correct amount, most recently I have found they have included a plastic dosing ball over the top of the bottle however it is a tight fit on the bottle and I never use more than a 35ml capful so don't bother using it. The instructions say to use a 35ml amount for a normal load and a 52ml dose for a larger load which is where the ball would come in but I only ever use 3/4 of a 35ml dose for a 6kg load and find it does the job fine.

I find that the liquid smells nice and fresh but I always use a nice smelling fabric conditioner in my wash so never really notice the smell on the clothing. The liquid is not too thick but it doesn't run all over either so I don't find it messy to use, the bottle can however be a bit heavy at the start if you are using the larger bottle. I find that about 98% of my clothes come out perfectly clean but as I have 2 young children they end up with a variety of stains on them and not all of them come out such as blood and some bright foods. I have never actually found a detergents that is able to deal with all stains so I just add an extra stain remover to this detergent.

I give this detergent 5 stars as even though it isn't perfect I have found that none of them are and this is about the best on the market along with Surf.

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Persil S&M Bio

==Persil Small & Mighty Biological Laundry Liquid==

For laundry i'm one who is a powder type person, call me traditional if you want but I find that nothing else cleans as well or leaves the washing cleaner than normal, basic washing powder! It must stem from the family because my mum, nan & sister all like to use laundry powder, but only in Bio form. It was only until a year & a half ago that I got to use different detergents for then on doing my own washing. I then found that manufacturers made a colour version of powder & quickly noticed that my coloured clothes were'nt fading at all, unlike Bio Colour detergent have no bleach & in turn don't ruin clothes! Then I discovered liquid, again this had no bleaching agents in it & I urged mum to try it, since then she has used i constantly & noticed a difference in her colour fading. Now me I like to use a bit of both, powder for bedding & whites & liquid for coloured clothes (eg school uniform). There are only some laundry liquids out there that can achieve the whole package, & the Daz Regular liquid that mum uses I don't like, cleanings OK but the smell is way too powerful; much prefer the powder version!

There has been some talk over the last few years since liquids became popular that they are better for your washing machine. Well, I wont lie to you; in one way they are & in another way they are not. Liquids do pass through the washing machine pipes more easily, dissolve quicker, rinse out quicker, & are great for cold / fast washes but since they don't contain bleaching agents like Bio & Non Bio Powders / Tablets do none of the bacteria & dirt inside the washing machine is removed during the wash, so then causing a build up of slime, gunge & mould inside the drum, piped & hoses; Nice! So thats why most people recommend using a mixture of both, yes you might need to buy some more detergent but effectively you could be saving your washing machine from a slow & painful death if you just go that extra bit further.

I just thought I'd mention that as I have meant to write a review on this for a while, oh well but thats what writing other reviews does!

This Persil Small & Mighty is my first proper bottle of it, 6 years after launch! Yes it has taken so long just to buy some! I have used it before but only in little 1 wash sachets but I currently have the newest formula. Whilst out celebrating my Nans 80th Birthday we had to pass Costcutter on the way home & on the previous day I saw that they had Persil Small & Mighty on offer, so I called in & purchased some, & because it was a liquid mum got some too. They had other varietes of Persil but it was the Small & Mighty I wanted. They had Bio, Colour & Non Bio, but since non of them contain Bleach I didin't matter which one I bought! In the end I purchased the Bio version, the one in the green & white bottle. Costcutters price is £2.49 for the diddy 18 wash size. 28 wash is about £6 something!

Persil Small & Mighty Bio 18 wash comes in a bottle containing 630ml of blue watery laundry liquid. The bottle looks quite nice in it's green & white colour co-ordinations. Down the right side of the bottle there is a clear gage where you can see how much liquid you have used, quite handy! The back of the bottle has all of the instructions, more information about the 'wash booster' & how to use this product. Persil advertise their Small & Mighty at now being able to '''clean tough stains even in a quick wash''', due to the wash booster technology, which gives their best ever stain removal. Persil also advertise their product as being able to shift tough stains even at cold 15c water temperatures.

Since buying this laundry liquiid during Feb half term I have used it 3 times; 2 Washing Machine uses & 1 Handwash (well, semi automatic). I have used this Small & Mighty on normal School Uniform washes & on filthy White Bedding, all at the Quick Wash, 30c. Using this Persil is really easy. Simply take the dosing ball off (prise it off more like, took more than 5 minutes) & unscrew the cap. Then fill the ball to the desired dosing level. Either 35ml, for standard loads (4-5kg) or Soft / Medium Water, or use 52ml, for larger loads (6-8kg), dirtier loads or Hard Water. Upon opening the cap I was greeted with the most delightful fragrance, fresh but very flowery, not feminine or masculine in any way. I filled the ball to the desired level & pre-treated any stains, more on this in a sec. Then all you have to do is put the ball in with the washing, & off you go!

For my normal clothes, they came out nice & clean with 35ml of liquid & any small stains that may have been occuring in the wash have totally gone. I also used some of my new Lenor, which has 7x longer freshness, but the smell of Persil S&M Bio seemed to overpower it, as the Persil was all I could smell! Not a hint of Lenor at all! The bedding also came out great too, it's white with different tints of Green in it, & there were loads of stains; Blood mostly, Ink, Tea, Brown Water stains that had happened when it was last washed, & some Mud had got onto it when I put my bag on the bed after it had been sitting on the car floor! Yes just generally a mess! For the heavier blood stains I pre-treated them with a little Persil S&M, for the Ink I doused it in TESCO Everyday Value Hairspray & then filled up the ball to 52ml & placed it in the washer. Whilst the wash was happening Foam started to run down the door. Even though foam has nothing to do with cleaning, I still like to see some whilst the wash is going on! Hanging it outside Persil S&M had shifted all of the stains & it almost looked like I had washed it in Powder when I really hadn't, I was starting to get really pleased! For the semi-automatic washer, there were a few things that needed washing, including my PE top that was washed & still stunk & also my Topman T-Shirt that I had managed to get a small soup stain on the white bit. So I measured 17ml (a half cap) pre treated the stained area then poured the rest into the wash water. The water then turned a nice sea blue & whilst the clothes were going round, the kitchen again filled with this wonderful smell! After the spin, I hung the clothes outside & a couple of days later all I can smell if the wonderful soapy smell that this Persil offers me!

==Summary==

Persil Small & Mighty is a very high performing detergent that you only need the recommended amount of to produce astounding results. On whites, lights, colours & darks this Persil has performed brilliantly & I will most certainly buy it again, thanks to its ability to produce such amazing results on Quick Washes & Cold Washes!

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A moderate laundry agent, one at the top of the list among other liquids, powder far more effective!

~*~The Product ~ 'Small talk'!~*~

The Unilever product comes in two sizes; I purchased the smaller 18 wash 630ml container. The laundry liquid comes in a tall slender plastic container in co-ordinating greens, reds, blues and white. The front of the label claims that this 'new' formula 'cleans tough stains even in a quick wash' and contains a 'wash booster'! Plenty of information is contained on the reverse of the label, such as how much to use and safety notes, 'Keep away from children. Rinse hands after use. Keep away from eyes. If product gets into eyes rinse thoroughly with water. People with sensitive or damaged skin should avoid prolonged contact with theproduct.

As we are aware that We all need to support companies that are attempting to produce products that are more environmentally friendly. It is therefore worth mentioning that, as such companies are endeavouring to be more ecologically responsible, this one too claims to be part of the 'Cleaner Planet Plan' as they state, 'We're working hard to make products that are not only great at cleaning, but also tread more lightly on the planet. Did you know that quicker, cooler washes are not only kinder to your energy bill, but can have less impact on the environment'? Added to this, the company are part of 'An A.I.S.E. voluntary sustainability initiative www.cleanright.eu'.

I purchased this product online from the Sainsbury's website as it was on offer and the advertising captured my attention with its bold statement of 'cleans tough stains even in a quick wash'. I use the 15 minute wash cycle frequently so this would be an asset if it proved true! No matter how good a gel or liquid laundry detergents is, extensive test have revealed that none can compete with the overall cleaning power of laundry powders tablets and powder. But I still opt for laundry liquids these days as I find powder laundry products coagulate in the drawer of my machine. I haven't the motivation to remove the drawer before every wash to clean and dry the receptacle! Added to this, Liquid detergents are much gentler on colours too.

~Mud & Grass~

When I have my grand-tots over to stay on the weekends, I wash their scholl uniforms. These items consist of dark trousers in 35% viscose and 65% polyester , the same material and percentage in the dark pinifore dresses. Also Coloured Sweatshirts in 100% cotton, School coloured cardigans in 100% cotton, White 100% cotton polo shirts and White socks in 22% polyester, 77% cotton and 1% elastane.

My grand-son's trouser generally has mud and grass stains from playing on the field at lunchtimes. These marks are pretty ground in with some deep distinct staining on the knee areas. I generally like to use the 30% cycle for two important reasons. Firstly, it directly affects my finances! By this reduction in temperature, I save a few quid but nonetheless evident amount on my utility bills. This means that with each 10% reduction in degree choice, I can save around £12 a year. Therefore, from the standard 60% wash I used to automatically launder my clothes in, I now save £36 annually! And coloured clothes respond remarkably well in this temperature too. Secondly, my conscience is clear that I am playing a small part in lowering 'emissions from power stations'!

But for these types of stains, I wash the trousers in 60% cycles. Even although the manufacturers of these trousers treat the material with a 'Teflon' component in order to provide a protective finish that help to resist stains and even contain a 'release action' for more stubborn marks, I am quite disappointed with the results after washing. Although the mud stains have faded, the smears are still noticeable, so much so, that I need to pop them in again for another wash. Yet, even although I wash these over and over again, over approximately three months, or a term, only moderate fading of the material has occurred. The boy's trousers are replaced after each term due to growth patterns, staining of material and holes through rough and tumble activity!

2/5 for cleaning effectiveness and 4/5 for fade resistence

~Make-up~

I am not always as careful as I ought to be when removing clothing to prevent transferrence of make up onto my clothes. More often than not, I tend to get cosmetic residues such as foundation and lip-stick on the collars of my blouses and t-shirts. I wash these more delicate clothes on 30% cycles and find that Persil does an excellent job at removing just about every trace of the marks. Waterproof Mascara can cause a little more of a problem but the overall results are wonderful. I am delighted with these results. Although lipstick didn't give the same positive results, only small extracts were detected after one wash.

When I have taken my grand-tots to fairs where they have had 'face painting' done, not even these more stubborn brightly coloured cosmetics have caused too much difficulty on the clothing. I have even washed the grand-tots clothes on a 15 minute 30% cycle so that my daughter can take the grand-tots clothes with her when she collected the tots. The shorter cycle had the same excellent results. I am thriled to report that not much fading and no liquid residue occured on both cycles.

4/5 for cleaning effectiveness and 4/5 for fade resistence

~Red Wine~

I do not drink red wine, preferring white. But my son does like red wine and, like his ma, has spilt wine from time to time. I've Generally mopped up these spillages with a tea towel or bathroom hand towel. All whites, particularly cottons, go on a 60% cycle. Cooler washes such the 30% cycle I'd normally use aren't as appropriate for some laundry. Higher temperatures are better at killing dust mites and bacteria! So I tend to stick to the higher 60% cycle for such fabrics as bedding and towels.

Unfortunately, the laundry liquid, even at these higher temperatures, struggle at removing all traces of red wine. When the cycle is finished, I can quite clearly see patches of where the red wine has been. Although the marks have faded, they have not been removed. I have spoiled a couple of new towels mopping up this type of fluid and now only use old items to absorb spillages. 3/5 for cleaning effectiveness and 4/5 for fade resistence

~Tea & Coffee~

I'm afraid, the liquid couldn't remove tea and coffee stains on my tea towels either. Although I received better results, staining was still noticeable. Even after several washes and on a 60% cycle, the laundry liquid failed to remove these stubborn stains. I am gald that fading of both beverage spillages occurred but not so that the towels didn't look grubby. On a more posiive note,, no actual fading of the material or residue of laundry liquid occurred.

3/5 for cleaning effectiveness and 4/5 for fade resistence

~Orange & Blackcurrant Juice~

Orange juice faired better than blackcurrant juice at being removed on a 60% cycle but sadly, very similar results as were found from the above refreshments. Blackcurrant juice stains were faded but very noticable on such things as bibs, tea towels and the grand-tots clothing. These results are particularly disappointing as my youngest grand-daughter, whose clothing is much smaller, has significant more coverage of the stains that has resulted and some items too marked to wear again!

3/5 for cleaning effectiveness and 4/5 for fade resistence

~Blood~

I accidently broke a glass whilst washing it and cut my finger. I suffered a significant amount of blood loss that soiled a towel I used to stem the flow with. The laundry liquid really struggles at removing blood from clothing. I have even done a pre-wash, followed by a 60% cycle and still dark patches remain on the towels and garments.

3/5 for cleaning effectiveness and 4/5 for fade resistence

~Chocolate~

I like to get in plenty of treats for when my grand-tots stay over. Chocolate being a firm favourite for me, as it contains less harmful ingredients, for the tots, well, it's chocolate! :~) I am thrilled to reveal that this laundry liquid removed most chocolate residues from clothing. We like to melt chocolate and dip it into a selection of fruit. You can imagine how much spillages occur on clothing in the excitement of this fun snack time! Apart from higher percentage of chooclate, such as 70%, this laundry liquid can remove this tasty treat in one 30% wash cycle.

4/5 for cleaning effectiveness and 4/5 for fade resistence

~Food debris~

Food residue such as mustard, ketchup and mayonaise proves no real problem for this product. Although tomato based foods can prove a little more taxing for the liquid, overall the stains are removed in one wash. I will say that some food debris such as ketchip and brown sauces need a 60% cycle to tackle the more stubborn stains but a brief pre-wash helps to disolve the deeper ground in blemishes.

4/5 for cleaning effectiveness and 4/5 for fade resistence

~Oil residue~

I use olive oil in a fair portion of my cooking and removing this type of grease has proved not too much problem for this laundry agent. As long as the oil hasn't stained a large section, the liquid can remove the majority of the patch without noticeable residues. However, larger soiling sections are cleaned but grey discolourations can be seen. If I have marked tea towels with such products as fry light, all smudges are removed on the 60% cycle.

4/5 for cleaning effectiveness and 4/5 for fade resistence

~*~ Summary ~*~

I am going to give 2/5 for whiteness as I have found that after approximately fifteen washes, white fabrics, or material that has a white content within have become discoloured or grey. The laundry liquid is unable to keep whites looking as fresh and bright as some laundry powders that contain bleach. I have to give the same marking, 2/5 for the lack of effectiveness on clothing that has been marked with mud and grass. Even on a higher temperature, these stains are still visable.

I am thrilled to give this product 4/5 on its effectiveness at removing grease, oil, make-up and food staining from soiled items. Only the most stubborn overly soiled fabrics reveal patches of the residue. I will give 4/5 concerning the product's ability to prevent fading of coloured material. I have noticed that despite having to use slightly higher temperatures, such as 40%, the product retains the colour in items over many washes.

I can only give 3/5 for the product's overall ability at removing stains from refreshments such as red wine, tea, coffee and blackcurrant juice. Deeper more stubborn debris is noticable even after higher temperature cycles, pre-washes and several treatments.

I will give 5/5 for not being able to detect any remnants of the liquid left on fabrics, no matter what temperature I use on a wash cycle. This is important to me as my son has eczema and my youngest grand-son has very dry skin. Therefore, any residues left on clothing can cause rashes and allergic reactions.

~Tips~

Laundry powders and powder tablets are best at cleaning stains from fabrics and keeping whites brighter because they 'contain bleaching agents'. But it is worth mentioning that liquid sachets generally contain a high amount of surfactants and solvents which are great at breaking down lardaceous stains such as butter and even motor oil.

I have often found it tempting to pop in a little extra cleaning agent, much the same as we do for 'one for the pot' when making tea! But I found out that it is so important to follow the manufacturer's directions on amounts to use in wash cycles. On the lower end of the spectrum, it wastes money. Co-incidental to this, machine drainage pipes have become blocked which prevents clothing being rinsed properly. We are aware that the demand on companies to make their products more eco-friendly and therefore, they strive to reduce the amount of water consumed in usage which improve their energy rating efficiency too. So with less water than ever before, more laundry liquid being added than recommended can truly cause many more issues financially and health wise! And this is where it is at the more worrying end, it can cause skin irritations; this is particularly poignant for babies! Using more doesn't mean extra cleaning power. In fact, it hinders the detergents effectiveness in cleaning as the foam cushions the fabric so that the washing machine's agitation within the wash cycle is prevented from thorough rotation of the linen. Just as an extra note here, hardness of water differs so it is worth checking that the recommendation includes this issue.

Although washing on a lower temperature cycle like 30% has many benefits, it is noteworthy that washing at such low temperatures most of the time can result in the build-up of mold and grease as it has done on both my washing machine's drawer and door seal, including mildew odours! To remove these issues, a couple of times a month I use a biological bleach powder detergent on a 60% cycle to wash some linen. This removes all offending issues, helping to keep the machine free from bacteria and odour free! I am more alert to leaving the washing machine door open to dry out after a wash cycle now and giving a quick wipe now and again with a bleached cloth.

~*~Would I Recommend? ~ 'Biological Clock Ticking'!~*~

This is quite a quandary really, because there are benefits but also some fairly noteworthy negatives to using this product.

Laundry liquids are particularly good for washing coloured clothes, as they don't contain bleaching agents, which break down the coloured dyes in the fabric. Therefore, I have found this to be an excellent product to use at protecting coloured articles. This product does clean but certainly not as effectively on darker and more stubborn stains. It is excellent at leaving no liquid residues and doesn't cause too much noticeable fading, even on higher temperatures. The liquid smells really lovely as I poor it from the bottle to the machine drawer but the fragrance doesn't transfer particularly well or lasting onto fabrics. The product has good effectiveness when used on grease and oil marks but not at all well on everyday stains such as mud and grass stains from children's clothing.

The product has a rich but very sticky feel to it and needs to be removed from my hands immediately as I've noticed an itchy irritation on my skin, although I am not normally sensitive to such materials! Overall, I'd give this product 60/100 when taking everything into account. On a normal price, it works out at 24p a wash which isn't too bad but I still would only purchase this on offer. Out of the majority of laundry liquids available, I'd say this is certainly one of the better ones, but I will recommend it only as a substitute for the better alternative of a laundry powder.

Persil Small & Mighty Liquid Detergent, Biological 1L (28 Washes) is currently on a saving of £1.40 as it was £6.40 but is now £5.00 with a donation from the Sainsbury's of 8p to Comic Relief from each purchase.

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/groceries

Thank you for taking the time to read my review :~)

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Good product - would use again.

I got to try Persil Small and Mighty Non-Bio for free as part of a Bzz campaign. The campaign is all about spreading my views on the product, so this review reflects my honest opinion after using a full bottle of the product at home. I had not used this product before and had no preconceptions about what it might be like. Previously I used liquid tabs, but was getting a bit fed up with them splitting in the box, so was open to trying something new. As a mum of 2 (a two year old and a 3 week old) I have lots of dirty washing to get through and lots of tough stains (food and nappy leakage mainly!). I found that Persil Small and Mighty tackled most of the stains reasonably well but did not get out really tough stains even at a high temperature. I was a little disappointed about this, although it was no worse than other brands I have tried. I did find the product easy to use, although I didn't like the separate measuring cup (it was never to hand when I wanted it and was something extra to rinse out after every use) - I would have preferred to be able to just use the product cap and in fact I just ended up doing this. Overall I liked the product and particularly the concentrated format which means a smaller bottle to carry home and store. My only criticism is that it is not great on really tough stains.

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Not quite as tough on stains as it suggests but smells great and washing is very soft.

I am a Bzz Agent and have been trying the product for free.

I must say I used to use Persil Small and Mighty if it was on offer at my local Supermarket and it didn't really have an impact on me. I usually buy the cheapest clothes washing product at that point in time as apart from the smell I always think that they are all much the same.

I used my Persil Small and Mighty from my bzz agent kit and initially was very pleased. I love love love the smell of my laundry when it comes out of the washing machine and lasting fragrance in my utility room. I love love love the soft feel of the clothes, especially my 10 week old baby's babygros. But what I really want on top of both of those things is a detergent that actually washes out "tough stains" as promised, and like all other detergents Persil Small and Mighty still doesn't deliver. I was expecting (as the marketing of this product is all related to our "little ones") that it would be able to get leaky nappy stains out of babygros - it doesn't unless you use it with an extra stain remover, like Vanish. And as a busy mother of two, you don't want to have to soak the clothes, put on Vanish and then put them in the washing machine, you want a product that does all that for you. Nappy leakage stains are tough, but nappies leak all the time with explosive babies!!!

The other notable comment that I have is that although the product is concentrated, it takes you a while to get used to using less - although in a very hard water area such as mine you probably end up using the same amount as with normal liquid. What I would recommend would be putting some clever top on the bottle that stops you from filling the ball up too much - ie gives you one wash load amount at the time, then you would be far less inclined to add "just a little bit more as I live in a hard water area". In regards to the measuring ball, I found it really difficult to get the plastic measuring ball off of the top of the bottle!!